That was the message yesterday from L.A. at the 47th annual Grammy nominations, where Chicago rapper Kanye West was crowned king with a staggering 10 nods, while Brooklyn’s Alicia Keys and hip-hop crooner Usher received eight each.

The legendary Ray Charles posthumously garnered seven nominations for his duets album, “Genius Loves Company,” while the pairing of dead men Johnny Cash and Joe Strummer on a cover of the late Bob Marley’s “Redemption Song” was honored with a single nod for their Lazarus hat trick.

Amazingly, in the top three categories – Album, Record and Song of the Year – Orange County punk/pop pioneers Green Day (which took six nominations total) and ill-named Hoobastank are the only rock ‘n’ roll representatives.

The top category – Album of the Year – will pit Charles’ final record against Green Day’s political rock opera, “American Idiot,” “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” West’s “The College Dropout” and Usher’s “Confessions” (which is the year’s biggest record, selling 7 million copies).

Although U2’s “Vertigo” was snubbed in the Song of the Year category – which honors the craft of songwriting, rather than performance – the category showed an eclecticism that’s been sorely missed in recent years.

It was marked with a contemporary cross section that includes R&B, rap, country and rock. The nominees here include singer/songwriter John Mayer, for “Daughters,” Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” West’s “Jesus Walks,” country singer Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying,” and Hoobastank’s “The Reason.”

Of those songs, “Jesus Walks” was easily one of the most controversial of the year. Many predicted the voters would shy away from the tune because of its religious overtones.

In a postceremony interview, West, who called his 10 nominations “overwhelming,” said, “When I made [‘Jesus Walks’], I always thought this was the kind of song the Grammys would like to get behind.”

He added that “everything in music has gotten so monotonous, you have to come out with something that means something.”

The public obviously agreed. West’s “The College Dropout” – an R&B/thug-life hybrid – is the fifth-best selling album this year, at 2.5 million copies.

Record of the Year nominees were hip-hop band Black Eyed Peas, with “Let’s Get It Started,” Charles and Norah Jones with their duet, “Here We Go Again,” Green Day for “American Idiot,” Los Lonely Boys’ “Heaven,” and Usher, featuring Lil’ Jon and Ludacris, for the hit “Yeah!”

Last year, one of the biggest controversies of the Grammy Awards was in the Best New Artist category. Only one of the five nominated was really making a debut. This year, that’s been remedied. Besides West, the other “new” artists include Los Lonely Boys, Gretchen Wilson, pop band Maroon5, and British soul singer Joss Stone.

Winners of the 47th annual Grammy Awards will be announced Feb. 13 during ceremonies at the Staples Center in L.A., which will be televised on CBS.